Chapter 76 A General's Demeanor Her sister-in-law was actually in her hometown in Northeast China…
The land to be acquired includes a hilltop and a flat area at its foot, containing the old houses of commune members, the ancestral graves of some members, and newly applied-for homesteads by young people.
The person making a big fuss at this moment was commune member Wang Fulai. His family's ancestral graves were on the mountain. If a textile factory were to be built, it would involve relocating the graves and digging up the mountain, which would not benefit his family in the slightest. Of course, he was unwilling to do so.
Why would you give him some compensation and expect him to move his ancestors' graves?
Wang Fulai: "Building a textile factory has done our family no good whatsoever, so why should we have to sacrifice it?"
Lin Sen comforted him, saying, "This member, calm down. This is collectively owned land. If we can set up a textile factory on the island, it would be a good thing for the country and the people. You should be willing to sacrifice your own interests for the greater good."
Qin Xiangxiang's lips twitched; she finally understood why the land acquisition couldn't be completed. The prevailing social trend these days is to sacrifice the individual for the collective, emphasizing sacrifice, dedication, selflessness, and willingness to give one's all.
Many popular TV dramas from the 1970s and 80s had similar plots. Whether it was the male or female lead, they would pick up several children from strangers and devote themselves to raising these children, even selling their blood. Then their families would not understand, the couple would quarrel, they would suffer from poverty and illness, and in the end, their families would be destroyed and they would even risk their own lives to raise these children from strangers, winning the tears of a lot of viewers.
It's good to promote the willingness to sacrifice, as many people are selfless. However, many others are unwilling to sacrifice, and it's difficult for ordinary people to be as selfless as the female protagonist.
Instead of persuading others to make sacrifices, explain the actual benefits.
“Why don’t you benefit from building a textile factory in the commune? After the textile factory is built, the commune will have a quota of candidates to be recommended for the textile factory every year.”
Wang Fulai curled his lip: "Do we, native country folk, have a place in this kind of intellectual stuff? Even the educated youth couldn't compete for it all."
The urban educated youth felt wronged when they were sent to the countryside to suffer, while the rural farmers felt even more wronged, as these educated youth from outside the city were taking away their land, eating their share of grain, and, moreover, stealing their opportunities because they were educated.
They knew that working in collective factories required a certain level of education, which ordinary farmers couldn't possibly meet. It would be better to keep the land to build ancestral graves and houses, at least they would get some benefits in return.
Qin Xiangxiang said, “Those recommended to work in the factory are limited to women with household registration in this commune, who are of good character, hardworking and diligent. In terms of education, they are only required to be basically literate. After entering the factory, the factory will invite teachers from the factory school to teach the female workers their literacy.”
"You don't need to worry about that. Ordinary working women can also get into the factory."
In cities, textile factories typically require a junior high school education and the ability to work as an apprentice in the workshop. However, in reality, anyone who can read and is quick and nimble can be trained to work on the assembly line.
In the dream, in the following years, special attention was paid to the education of female workers. The factory had special teachers to teach female workers. After the college entrance examination was restored, female and male workers in state-owned factories had the opportunity to study abroad every year.
In the 1980s, many people went abroad for the first time by taking advantage of the factory's quota for overseas training and study, and many of them stayed abroad and never returned.
"Women? Women going to work in factories? Women shouldn't stay at home doing laundry, cooking, taking care of children, and looking after the family. Women going to factories? Don't they want to abandon their families?"
On the island, women did not have a high status because all the fishermen were men. Even now, there are still rumors that it is unlucky for women to go on the boat, and that it will cause the boat to capsize. It was only after the founding of the People's Republic of China that there were female captains and female boat captains, but in the eyes of many older generations, this is still considered very bad.
Qin Xiangxiang said calmly, "For families whose homesteads have been occupied or whose ancestral graves have been moved elsewhere, give each family a job opportunity in the factory."
"There's only one spot for getting into the factory; they're just throwing money away to a beggar."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "The most ordinary female factory worker who works as a regular operator earns a basic salary of fifty or sixty yuan a month."
The commune director, along with the other commune members and onlookers, stared wide-eyed and blurted out, "Fifty or sixty?"
"Young lady, don't try to fool us. We've heard that an ordinary apprentice only earns seventeen or eighteen yuan, and a regular employee earns thirty-three. You're saying a textile factory pays fifty or sixty yuan? Who are you trying to fool?"
Qin Xiangxiang said, "The female machine operator is a job. According to the salary standard of the job, as long as you are willing to go to the workshop and endure hardship, an ordinary female machine operator can earn fifty or sixty yuan a month, and a middle-class one can earn seventy or eighty yuan. However, going to the workshop is hard work."
Although Qin Xiangxiang mentioned how hard it was to work in the workshop, everyone watching was going crazy with excitement. Working in the workshop was hard? Wasn't working on the land hard? Fishing by boat was even harder, and going out to sea to fish was a life-threatening experience. The engine was scorching hot, the smell of fish was awful, and when there were strong winds and waves, you would get seasick and vomit. The sea was turbulent and you were tossed about... Wasn't all of that hard?
In the past, many women worked in the fields and took care of their families, raising pigs and chickens—and didn't even receive a penny in wages. They devoted themselves entirely to their families.
At that time, a salary of thirty yuan was enough to support a family of four, barely enough to eat and wear. The salary of a textile worker was enough to support the whole family.
"A basic salary of fifty or sixty yuan a month, and she's a girl? Now all the girls in the family are like golden babies."
"This is higher than a man's salary?!"
Fifty a month, that's a full six hundred a year. Even a man can't earn that much. With a woman like that in the family, they can support the whole household!
Goodness, even the old man over there is shaking when he smokes.
Who cares about homesteads? Give the factory jobs to the girls and wives in the family. Two years' wages can build a nice brick house. As for ancestral graves... with a monthly salary of fifty or sixty, that's the ancestors showing their power!
Qin Xiangxiang said, “The commune cadres should encourage the members to reconsider. If the textile factory is built, the commune will recommend a number of people to work in the factory every year. The specific number will be based on the factory’s annual plan. For those who have relocated graves, relocated homesteads, or encroached on their private plots, each family will be compensated with one job opportunity.”
The commune cadres were excited, while Wang Fulai, who had just been clamoring that if the graves were to be moved, he would cut through their bodies, was now silent. That was a salary of several hundred yuan a year!
"I agree to that."
"Good heavens, that's fifty or sixty yuan a month's salary! The girls and newlywed wives in our brigade are so precious, where are the women going to get fifty or sixty yuan a month's salary?"
"Women from other communes are going crazy wanting to marry into our commune."
Yes!
In those days, ordinary rural women really had no way to make a living. Farming depended on men, and the land was registered under men's names. Becoming a boat captain was considered unlucky, and going out to sea to fish was too hard. They raised two pigs all year round, and after handing them over to the government, they could only afford to buy new clothes for their men and children and two pairs of shoes. They would then patch up their clothes and get through another year.
Textile factories were a source of hope for many women.
A monthly salary of fifty or sixty yuan gives a woman the confidence to stand tall and speak with dignity at home; a woman's earnings can support the whole family.
"Director Qin, you're really something." Seeing the change in the commune staff's attitude, Lin Sen, the person in charge of land acquisition, knew that the most difficult part had been resolved.
When he first met Qin Xiangxiang, he thought she was too young and pretty, just a pretty face who couldn't handle anything. But who knew that this woman was so calm and composed, fearless in the face of danger, speaking slowly and deliberately, and with a confident and self-assured look on her face that was particularly convincing.
The logic is sound, but whether people can believe it depends entirely on personal charisma.
In addition, having experienced the era of exaggerated claims in the past, no matter how eloquently you speak, the farmers are unwilling to believe you.
"Director Qin, you truly have the demeanor of a leader. You speak practically, without bureaucratic jargon or pretension, and genuinely care about the commune members. No matter how much we said before, it was useless. Only when you, Director Qin, take the lead can we gain their trust." Lin Sen was only in charge of land acquisition and could not guarantee other promises to the commune members, but the words of Qin Xiangxiang, the temporary director, were effective.
Moreover, Director Qin's solution was quite reasonable, and the crisis was resolved so easily.
Qin Xiangxiang: "Huh?!"
When she came, she was thinking, "If they don't want to collect, they'll collect; if they don't, they'll just drag it out." In any case, it didn't really matter. Building a textile factory was a good thing. If this commune was unwilling, there would naturally be others who were willing. It would just take some time.
The solution is readily available: there must be compensation for sacrifices. It's reasonable to give someone a factory job quota when they relocate their homestead. Since they used the commune's collective land, the commune should also be given a factory job quota in return...
Is that how it's resolved?
Li Jinling: "Sister-in-law, you have no idea how amazing you were just now. Actually, when I saw so many people, my voice was shaking, but you were so confident and amazing, just like Wu Zetian."
“That’s how you were talking just now…” Li Jinling mimicked, putting on a stern face and speaking in an affected manner.
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
Qin Xiang thought about how she had just imitated Li Jianzhi's expressionless way of speaking, as well as her self-righteousness that she had developed since childhood.
She's such a drama queen; she always speaks with an air of self-righteousness.
Is this really leadership talent?
Lin Sen praised, "This shows composure and calmness in the face of danger, the demeanor of a great general!"
"At first glance, you seem young, so I thought you were flustered by this situation."
Li Jinling: "My sister-in-law has the demeanor of a great general. If my brother dies, then you, sister-in-law, will be like Mu Guiying leading the army."
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
"A salty attitude" equals "the demeanor of a great general," and indeed, they remain calm and composed.
As for the phrase "My brother died...", just how many folk tales did this sister-in-law hear back in her hometown in Northeast China?
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